More from the SCBS 2019

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More from the SCBS 2019

Back at the Museum on the Monday after the Bike Show and time to reflect on the bikes at the show. As always there were some choice pieces of kit and below are a few of the bikes I thought were particularly good.

The Ariel 4 valver. Very rare.

Matchless G2, I had one of these. I liked it.

Douglas, 1914 with gearbox below the rear cylinder.

BSA C12.

BSA round tanker 1926

This Monday was an international affair with visitors from New Zealand, South Africa, America, Canada, Japan and this nice young lady from Latvia who wanted a picture of her sitting on my LE.

The bike is no prize winner as it does get used. I rode it to the show on Saturday and again to the Museum. After the picture shoot I fired up the LE and gave her a ride around the car park. She loves bikes and really enjoyed the experience. She said it was a very light and easy to handle machine. My surprise was that I managed the rise and fall of the slope two up and didn’t fall off on the uphill slope turn at the top of the car park and the engine pulled very well, even cold. Not bad from a 192cc engine that is 56 years old. Here are some pics taken by our regular visitor Martin.

Southern Classic Bike Show 2019

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Southern Classic Bike Show 2019

I get notification of the Southern Classic Bike Show around the end of February and I need to the the request in for the club stand by the end of March. This gives me plenty of time to get in touch with the usual club members who have a bike to show and be able to attend the event. All done in plenty of time before going to India in April for a traditional wedding. This trip to India I managed to stay in good health and came back in time to get to a Wey Valley Observed Sunday and a trip out on a back by one run that had a stop at the new look Ryka's. It was a busy Sunday with lots being sold at the shop at which I help out. Not surprising as there were over 220 bikes in the car park. Back at the Museum on the Monday and trolling through a bike magazine I found this advert.

The first ever Southern Classic Bike Show from 1986.

I didn’t see this in 2016 but there is on sale a book that is a photographic record of some of the interesting bikes that have been seen over the last 30 years.Not all things go to plan. The week before George had phoned me to say he would not be able to bring his KSS along as the headlamp glass had vibrated free and self destructed so he had no usable headlamp and would bring along his Venom sports instead. I notified Mortons of the change of bike also George had to go to a funeral on the Friday and would not be able to help me set up the LE Club stand I had arranged to meet up with Chris at the Admiral Hawke in Sunbury to do a trailer swop on the Wednesday before the show that was not a problem however on the way home I had a tyre self destruct and had to do a wheel change on the hard shoulder of the M4 near junction 3. Even with a speed limit of 60mph it was not a pleasant place to be.

Gita help me get the stand set up on the Friday afternoon and when I got home checked out my LE and got all the bits I needed for the early start in the morning. All ready for Saturday. Up at 6am and off to Kempton Park at 7am and arrived just before 8am. Chris was already there and we quickly unloaded his Police LE from my trailer. Where was George? By 08:30 Phil had arrived on his Valiant. About this time I had a call from Gita who said that George was stranded in Greenford and would not be coming along. Down to three bikes on display and we had the biggest space ever!

I was hopeful that George would not remain stranded and get his bike going again.

It was another full on day with lots of interest in the bikes along with a bit more promotion for the LMM. We met some of the old faces and were introduced to some new ones. Denis Frost, Velocette man through and through and the Club Historian was pleased that we were promoting the club and agreed it was time for some new banners and photos that I could get from India at reduced prices but I would need electronic copies to replace the paper ones we have that will not last much longer.

Late in the morning George arrived and helped out to the end of the day. He had to do a bit of shopping for parts to try to cure the Venoms’ ills. He had gone to the funeral and did 100 miles on it with no problems the day before. I introduced him to George’s corner where I wanted to position his bike that had pictures of him and his bike watching the procession of vintage bikes of the Pioneer Run near 
Epsom.

 

There were some nicely turned out bikes at the show but what dis catch my eye was this Tricati and Pete had got the frame and the engine mated but not completed as an offer he could not refuse persuaded him to let it go and I thought his may have been this one.

It turned out to be a good day at the show until I heard of the death of one of the Wey Valley Club members who had died in his sleep a few days ago. He was no older than me! He was a character and rode bikes with sidecars. He even instructed a member in advanced riding techniques for outfits.He was Graham Newton, a larger than character who gave so much to the Wey Valley Bike Club and so much more to improving motorcycling riding. We shall all miss him.

An Indian Motorcycle Museum

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A Motorcycle Museum in Assam.

There is more from India. Just a a museum I was introduced to by my nephew, Chinmoy and his friend who took me off on a day trip to visit this unusual place. It is located in the village of Medhikuchi about 20km from Guwahati. It was an adventure as we headed into a National Park with a gated entrance over a cart track only to find, by chance from a passing motorcyclist, that the museum had moved location to the other side of Highway 37. It was only about ten minutes away. We arrived and walked up a slight hill through the entrance that was under construction and close to the top, where it levelled out was where the museum was. 

Three distinct areas with 3 open sides and a roof was where bikes, cars and Jeeps lived. It was typically Indian with only just enough cover to keep the weather off. It was minimalistic but understandable with the limited finances available to the Owner of the Museum, Pickloo Deka who has put together this collection of motorcycles mostly wartime with what was left behind but also a collection that is from the fifties to the eighties. I think that as vehicles become worn out they will probably end up at Pickloos door. He is an enthusiastic collector one proud possession is a Grand Piano, another is the air raid siren along with a multitude of clocks, old radios and twenties style HMV gramophones. He has enough stuff to create a theme based cafeteria. Progress in development is slow as Pickloo has a full time job and any spare cash is put into developing the Museum. He has an uphill struggle as there are few Museums in India where the philosophy is buy new and throw the old stuff away. 

What do you want to keep it for? There are a few Classic Car Clubs who try to preserve the Indian Heritage but not many, unlike the UK which is a Museum in itself and full of history. Few want to preserve the old stuff and in my travels I see the old Colonial Post Offices gone to ruin as no one wants them. Pickloo is unusual in wanting to preserve something. We spent a long time going around his exhibition discussing the motorcycles and cars he has along with his exceptional collection of 1500 American service helmets. If you want one he has them! He is a genuine man who wants to build something special and needs all the support he can get. If you in Guwahati in Assam pay him a visit. He speaks good English and is very knowledgable about the cars and bikes he has. I had a very pleasant time discussing the woes of Museums and what could be done with this site. I keep thinking of ideas to generate cash which is what he needs and from a sponsor if he can find one. I wish him well as I know it is an uphill struggle to make his dream a reality.

More news from the emission zone front, after my email to the editor of Road magazine the MAG print there has been a whole load of campaign information printed about the questionable information used in determining the pollution levels of engines. This is from Issue 82 May/June 2019 pages 50 and 51. Our good old Villiers two stroke engine does not pollute any more than modern two strokes being low on carbon dioxide levels and NOx. No-one seems to be able to measure the blue smoke factor but are Euro 3 compliant at less than 0.15g/km CO2 cause they don’t use any fuel to speak of however a Euro 6 compliant 2.0ltr diesel at 0.21g/km is acceptable!!! How ludicrous is that? We have the information now to discredit any information that is put forward saying old motorcycles are more polluting than modern ones. Of course all this is put together on a computer model and we all know how rubbish those models are as they exclude too much relevant information from the model logic. I have said to representatives of MAG to get someone to write a paper that supports their ideals, get it published and quote that against those who use duff data. Perhaps I should write one myself?